A simple equation could help you decide whether to buy or rent a home

Real estate investor Grant Cardone, who has been in the field for
25 years, writes on Entrepreneur
that buying a home "is for suckers" because monthly payments make
it a liability, not an investment.

On
Quora, MIT Economist Erik Brynjolfsson explains that buying
is better than renting, because you get dividends in the
form of rent you pay to yourself.

On
the Altucher Confidential, James Altucher writes that between
the taxes, closing costs, constant maintenance, and demand on
your cash, he'll never own a home again.

So really, it depends who you ask.

The answer won't be the same for everyone. Perhaps the intangible
feeling of ownership is priceless to you; perhaps you like the
freedom of knowing you can up and leave your rented home whenever
you want.

Never pay more than 15 years' fair rental value for any home, or
180 months of rent. Why 15 years? By his calculations, someone
paying more than 180 months of rent might potentially do better
by investing in the market, after considering the costs of
owning.

So if an apartment would rent for $4,000 a month, that means you
shouldn't pay more than $720,000 ($4,000 x 180) for an equivalent
property.

If you're not sure about the rental price of your would-be home,
real estate listings site Zillow usually provides a sales and
rental estimate ("Zestimate") for listed properties. To verify
accuracy, look up the estimates for surrounding properties as
well.

Punching a few numbers into your phone's calculator may not make
up your mind for you, but at least it's somewhere to start.